President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Thursday insisted his Administration’s commitment to protecting and ensuring the independence and sovereignty of the country.
In his Presidential Address to inaugurate the Parliament for the year, President Dr Muizzu looked back at his pledge during his inauguration to protect the freedom, independence and sovereignty of the country and its people.
"It is a national duty that I impose on myself and one that I will never neglect. So, this Administration will do everything to build our ability to defend our country by sea, land and air," he insisted.
In that regard, the President said efforts to double the capacity of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Coast Guard is already underway, including more vessels and establishing more marine bases for the Coast Guard, which he said was moving along swiftly.
In addition, he noted that the Special Boat Squadron of the Coast Guard was established on 3 November 2024 for special operations.
The President said the MNDF Air Corps was also established on 15 March 2024 to enhance and mordernise MNDF’s aviation surveillance capabilities.
With the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles, many foreign vessels operating illegally in Maldivian waters have been detected with the help of these vehicles, he added.
President Dr Muizzu said efforts to establish air stations in the north and south of Maldives to monitor and protect its sovereign territory has already been mobilised. At the same time, the President pledged enhanced efforts to increase the capacity of the Marine Corps during this year, along with developing the facilities of the main MNDF training centre in Girifushi.
"These improvements will boost human resource capacity, better and modern equipment and resources. Similarly, I believe that the capacity of the MNDF Fire and Rescue needs to be increased significantly. So we have planned significant efforts to address that," he added.
The President said the government is working hard to improve the capacity of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) in maintaining security, law and order in the country. As a result, he noted that every inhabited island will have police presence by the end of this year.
Highlighting increased efforts to combat drug trafficking and gang violence, President Dr Muizzu shared plans to boost the capacity of MPS to effectively tackle both issues.